Cuomo op-eds, again

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released an op-ed to newspapers across New York calling for changes to the way New York garnishes your paycheck. "[I]n New York under the permanent tax code, an individual making a taxable income of only $20,000 pays the same marginal tax rate as an individual making $20 million," Mr. Cuomo writes. "It's just not fair."Ignoring for a moment the "millionaires' tax," a temporary income-tax surcharge that is about to expire, most New Yorkers pay a flat, 6.85 percent state income tax. Mr. Cuomo wants to change that."Simply put, to me 'fairness' dictates that the more you make the more you pay and the higher your income the higher your rate," Mr. Cuomo said.He did not outline specifics on how much more the wealthy would pay or how much less the middle class would pay. Nor did he specify whether these changes would be "revenue neutral" — that is, whether at the end of the day, the state would take in the same amount of money by taxing the rich more because of tax breaks for the middle class. "I would create multiple brackets and rates increasing on a graduated basis throughout and indexed to inflation. I would add more income brackets for the middle income and add high end brackets. The actual rate span should be several points from low to high," Mr. Cuomo said.What's also unclear: whether this could go through in the budget. If Mr. Cuomo puts it in the budget, there's a much greater likelihood that it will be passed. Already, as previously noted here, Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long does not like the idea of raising taxes. To parse Mr. Cuomo's words a bit, it seems that it'll be stand-alone legislation."Our State Legislature will need to act, swiftly and effectively," he said in the op-ed. Doesn't sound much like a budget move to me.

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